Fine for Long Buckby dog owner who failed to clear up after their pet

From left: Community projects officer at DDC Sally Johnson with volunteers Martin Horne and Frances Newton at Daventry's New Street Rec.

The woman was issued with the £100 fixed penalty notice after a resident captured the moment on camera and provided Daventry District Council (DDC) with the evidence.

Enforcement officers from the council visited the offender at her home in Long Buckby and she accepted the fine.

Enforcement action is one of a number of methods DDC uses in a bid to reduce dog fouling.

Councillor Richard Auger, environmental health and housing portfolio holder at Daventry District Council said: “Failing to clear up after your dog is antisocial and unacceptable. This is an excellent example of a spirited member of the public who is willing to make a stand against this behaviour and supply evidence so we can successfully prosecute offenders.

“I hope the circumstances of this case will help deter other would-be offenders, as it demonstrates that the public will not stand idly by and watch their environment sink into a pile of dog poo.

“We fully understand that prosecution is not the only tactic to deal with this problem. We have also seen success in other initiatives such as the last year’s Paint Means Poo campaign and it’s been encouraging to see so many parish councils and community groups taking part again this year.

“We will continue to be relentless in our approach to tackling this problem.”

Volunteers in 34 areas of the district are currently taking part in the Paint Means Poo scheme, which sees people patrolling dog fouling hotspots in their areas, spraying any fouling they find with brightly coloured paint, and recording the results.

The aim of the campaign is to highlight the extent of fouling and shame irresponsible owners into cleaning up their act. Dog fouling was halved across the 28 areas which took part last autumn and the council is hoping for similar reductions again.